Pito One Pā Landing

We’ve made small-scale improvements in and around the historic site of Pito One Pā.

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About Pito One Pā Landing

Pito One Pā Landing is located at the western end of Petone on 6 Te Puni Street. This location was chosen as it is an area of importance for Mana Whenua and forms part of the ‘Western Gateway’ in the Petone 2040 Spatial Plan.

The Landing will uplift the amenity quality of the area, honour the cultural roots of the location and support the tikanga (Māori customary practices) of Te Puni Urupā.

The Landing features:

  • A kerb extension area with a traditional whariki (woven mat) paving design, and boulder seating.
  • A mobility parking space to support accessibility to the urupā and surrounding businesses.
  • A tomokanga  (gateway) to support urupā tikanga practices.
  • Improvements to the urupā fence line including traditional Māori palisade fence attachments and painting of existing fence.

Pito One Pā Landing was blessed in late September by representatives of Te Tatau o Te Pō Marae, marking the completion of this project and the reopening of Te Puni Urupā.

Hutt City Council would like to acknowledge the contributions of Te Tatau o Te Pō Marae, Te Āti Awa hapū Ngāti Te Whiti and Ngāti Tāwhirikura, our Mana Whenua partners, the Pito One Steering Group, and of course our contractors JFC for bringing this project to life.

Whakapapa (History) of the Area

The area of Te Puni Urupā forms a small section of one of Petone’s largest pā sites, Pito One Pā, a place of deep significance to Taranaki Whānui. In 1839, it was here that Hōniana Te Puni and his people welcomed the first European settlers arriving on the ship Tory, marking a pivotal moment in the history of Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai Lower Hutt. To explore the full history behind this area, see Pito One West – Pito One Pā.

What we’ve heard

From our engagement for the project so far we know that people were keen on:

  • Increasing the street prominence of Te Puni Urupā
  • Supporting tikanga, and the use of the urupā through:
    • Improved accessibility e.g. somewhere to sit, mobility parking space
    • Providing a gathering space for future tangihanga (Māori ceremony for mourning)
    • Repairs to elements for whakanoa (spiritual clearing of environment process)
    • Increased privacy
    • Protection from the elements

Following this engagement, we’ve developed a plan for small-scale improvements in the area.

Pito One Landings - Pito one Pā features

Get in contact

Got questions about the project? You can contact us at pito_onelandings@huttcity.govt.nz.